The Citadel

We arrived at Norhault to be separated into groups for transport to the Citadel, with each group assigned a Bastellus guide for their visit - mine was Terror, El's Lament. We were relieved to see two other Bears, MacTrews, had also made the journey - as well as many familiar Bards and Lions. {Including a cute Arabian princess, who remembered me from the Gorsedd!}

Our task for the evening was to observe the petition of a number of unliving 'prisoners' of the Citadel, up for parole, and to share our votes on their fate - to be released to the cycle or to remain trapped and tormented for eternity: a heavy burden indeed! I tell you now, I do not envy the task of our Lady in her similar role over our people. This, and the guarding of their charges, is the role the Bastellus play in the planes of Darkness - punishing those with tainted patterns and releasing those that have wiped their 'slates' clean.

There seems to be some dispute as to whether a tainted pattern might retain its taint through the cycle into its new form, and therefore commit again such acts that it had before. This was at the heart of the decisions we faced, along with the decision as to whether they 'deserved' to be released from their torment at all - against the possibility of their escaping their guardians, at least for a time.

The Bastellus in general did not seem overly warm to our intrusion and alas, Torment - our host - was unable in the end to attend - Betrayal took her place. But they respected her wishes and kept us safe, even from our own stupidity (well, that of one or two guests...). Lament, in fact, was not a Bastellus but a Quall - the Bastellus' opposite in the planes of light or life, there to maintain a precarious link for the guests (so the healers could indeed heal if necessary) and to take away those that were released.

We heard the petitions and then ate a hearty meal, before mingling with the 'petitioners' to question them and decide our judgements - having elected Hope Sunstone, Lifemaster, onto the Bastellus council to adjudicate the voting. There was an unrepentant Death Knight from Albion, slayer of many Caledonians and his attempts to goad us and to escape kept us busy all evening; there was a vampiress with a sob story with little substance but dressed 'to kill'; a revenant lass trapped by her own guilt; an Empire 'Judge', a liche who committed crimes in the name of his lord; a liche apparently controlled by Malice, possibly guilty of slaying many of the college of darkness; and a Dwarf murderer, apparently avenging the deaths of his family - and intent on bringing all his foes' descendents to justice also.

An Arabian in dark dress was foolish enough to aid the Death Knight in his first bid to escape, trading the token of the Bastellus' protection and hospitality that each of us was gifted with, but that was foiled. The knight continued to brash and blow insults which we returned in kind, till a witty Lion educated him in recent history - he now apparently wishes to return to Albion and depose its rulership, before laying waste to our people once more.

Alas, a later attempt was not checked and - working in tandem with the Judge, the two convicts escaped. We are reassured that they will pose no threat, trapped in the planes about the citadel without means to return to Erdreja until recaptured - but I will warn our Lairds nonetheless, just in case. For there is no doubt that the Knight would try for us given the chance.

In the end, the Revenant was persuaded of her innocence and freed herself before the voting - a goodly deed. Two others were also released, leaving the Death Knight and the Judge - should they be recaptured - and the vampiress condemned. Each guest held a vote for each, black or white beads into a pouch - and the one tie was decided by the Bastellus council. And then we were released and returned back to Norhault to sleep, before journeying home.

 

All Works are © Original Author

(OC Author - Paul Martin)